Doctor of Management - Healthcare Management and Leadership

 

The Doctor of Management (DM) at Colorado Technical University is the terminal degree for management professionals. The program prepares students to think and act strategically and enhance their abilities to make positive contributions in their chosen area of management expertise. The program emphasizes three sets of competencies: (1) Research and Writing; (2) Leadership and Change Management; and (3) the specific Concentration discipline.

The program thus includes ten core instructional courses, five concentration instructional courses, plus nine doctoral research courses. Each class is conducted online.

In addition, graduation requires the approval of a dissertation which documents the student’s research processes and presents the findings and conclusions of that research, and suggests future research. The dissertation is divided into two major segments: the proposal and the full dissertation. The proposal will be developed by the student, and then submitted by the mentor to the University Review Board.  The research will then be conducted and written up, resulting in the full dissertation, which is then reviewed by a committee. These processes are conducted under the supervision of CTU’s professors.

Graduation Requirements

In addition to the successful completion of the above 96 credit hours with an acceptable GPA, students must also satisfactorily complete and defend their research with a dissertation.

Symposium

Doctoral programs at Colorado Technical University require a residential symposium. Additional information about CTU's doctoral symposium can be located in the Doctoral Symposium section of this catalog.

Degree Completion and Post-Doctoral Study

The student must be continuously enrolled until meeting all graduation requirements. A student who has not completed the research requirements by the end of the formal coursework continues by registering for RES893 Dissertation Research Continuation according to CTU’s re-take policy.

CTU offers a Post-Doctoral Certificate for applicants with a terminal degree from a regionally accredited program. This program offers accelerated applications of management theories and research design methods. Students must demonstrate advanced knowledge in a field of study through research and scholarship. Each candidate will be appointed a distinguished mentor at the beginning of their program to supervise research and guide scholarly goals. Candidates will be required to publish their research in a CTU approved peer reviewed journal.

To receive a Post-Doctoral Certificate students must successfully complete the five concentration courses offered in their selected program of study. Students are required to produce and publish the results of their postdoctoral research in a CTU approved peer reviewed journal. Due to the temporary nature of postdoctoral programs, candidates must complete the program within a maximum of three years (extension may be granted by the Provost or Vice Provost). Candidates are required to be continuously enrolled in RES893 until their research publication is accepted by a CTU approved peer reviewed journal.

The Doctoral Advantage

While a relevant master’s degree is ordinarily required for admission to CTU doctoral programs, there is also the option of completing a CTU MBA or MSM while starting work on the Doctor of Management. The program outcomes remain the same for the DM and the MBA or MSM under this option, but the normal completion time for the degrees in the combined program is reduced. Through this program, doctoral work is started after completing ten of the twelve required master’s courses. Program plans must be approved by the Provost, Vice Provost, Dean or Director for Graduate Programs. In no case will a master’s concentration be awarded unless all of the concentration courses (with the exception of a capstone course) have been completed.

The MBA or MSM degree will be awarded upon successful completion of the ten approved master’s courses plus two approved DM courses.